Butter Cookies

I don't think I posted this here at all, but this is the recipe for my mother's famous butter cookies, that she would make every year at Christmas. I still make them, and so does my sister. These things are seriously full of calories, just a warning. The dough is also heavy enough that it will destroy any cookie gun, no matter how expensive (I know that from experience too). I usually make double batches each time I mix it up, and when I do make these, I tend to make enough that I use about 4 lbs of butter.

So, here it is:

Butter Cookies (Mom's)

1 cup Butter (1/2 lb)

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour (reg - unbleached)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp Almond extract

Cook   400  10 - 12 minutes

or         350  10 minutes (a little softer - not all ovens are equal)

Fudge Icing

melt 3 squares baker's chocolate

w ~ 6 tblspns crisco (veg shrtng)

add about 6 tbspns milk

1 box confectioners sugar

Melt chocolate, add crisco, add some of the milk, then add sugar, and stir. Best to use a double boiler so you don't burn it. If too thick, add more milk. I usually start off with 4 tablespoons of milk. This mix hardens quickly as it cools, add more milk to thin if necessary when down to scraps, but very little!

John Van Stry